Friday, 18 February 2011

I once knew a girl called Josaline; not the normal form of the rare name Jocelyn, but a much rarer, Anglicised form, as if her parents had either been incredibly intelligent or so deliriously happy that they utterly misspelt the name.

My wife's name is Şencan, meaning merry soul. It is rare even in her native Turkey. It also, apparently, rhymes with 'little coffee cup', both of which are apt for her (*).

Do I have a thing for women with strange given names?

(*) We just found out that Google Translate translates her first name as 'Vampire'. Which, again, is most apt...